Most Islamic scholars have written about the greatness and
superiority of Hadrat Mu’âwiya in their books, corroborating their writings
with quotations of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. The chapter captioned ‘The
Earliest Fitna in Islam’ in this book and also the book entitled
‘Documents of the Right Word’ enlarge on their writings and the documents they
have forwarded. We have deemed it appropriate to write a few more lines in the
following passage, which is a translation from the book entitled
‘Tat-hîr-ul-jenân wa-l-lisân’, by Hadrat ibn Hajar-i-Makkî. The second edition
of the book was printed in Egypt in 1385 [1965 A.D.]. It is stated as follows
in its fifth page:
Hadrat Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ was an
accumulation of various honours, e.g. the honour of Islam; the honour of being
one of the Sahâba; the honour of belonging to the tribe of Qoureish, which is
an honour specially commended in hadîth-i-sherîfs; and the honour of being related by way of marriage to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. So
high an honour is the last one, i.e. the honour of being one of Rasûlullah’s relatives, that it has been stated
that people with that honour of relationship will be with the Messenger of
Allah in Paradise. If any Muslim possesses any one of the superiorities we have
cited presently, it is incumbent on us to love him. Hence, it takes only
average wisdom and reason to realize the magnitude of love that should be spared
for a person who was in possession of the total sum of all these honours.
The disagreements and fights among the Ashâb-i-kirâm did
not emanate from discord among them. For instance, Khâlid ibn Walîd and Sa’d
ibn Abî Waqqâs ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ’ disagreed with each other on a
certain matter. Someone began to speak ill of Khâlid bin Walîd in the presence
of Sa’d bin Abî Waqqâs. He (Sa’d bin Abî Waqqâs) presently stopped the person,
saying, “Do not talk behind his back! The disagreement between us will not ruin
our brotherhood in Islam.” Likewise, one day Hadrat Alî met Zubayr bin Awwâm in
the street. The two blessed Sahâbîs had a somewhat harsh tiff on a certain
matter in which Hadrat ’Uthmân also was involved. Abdullah, Zubayr’s son,
became indignant with Hadrat Alî and began to curse him, when his father,
furious at the boy’s interference, gave him a beating.
It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “The torment which my Ummat (Muslims) deserve will be inflicted in the world.” That
means to say that the tumults and problems among Muslims in the world cause
them to get rid of their sins. As is indicated by this hadîth-i-sherîf
as well as by many another
similar
one, the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were only temporal clashes, which added
to the blessings to be given to them in Paradise. Each and every one of the
Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ would try to please Allâhu ta’âlâ and to win His love in everything they
did, clinging to whatsoever they thought was a commandment of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
According to a unanimous statement of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat
‘rahimahumullâhu ta’âlâ’, committing a grave sin will not cause a Muslim to
become a disbeliever. Then, it is by no means something canonically
sanctionable to stigmatize those Sahâbîs who fought Hadrat Alî as disbelievers,
to vituperate against them or to criticize them ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’.
As is stated in the Sahîh (authentic book of hadîth-i-sherîfs) entitled Muslim, which is one of the two most
valuable basic books of Muslims, and also in other books, Hadrat Mu’âwiya
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ was a secretary of the Messenger of Allah. He would
write in his presence. Zayd bin Thâbit ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ would write
the Wahy. Mu’âwiya would write both the Wahy and the letters (of the Messenger
of Allah).
Abdullah ibn Mubârak ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ observes: “The
dust that entered the nostrils of the horse which Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anh’ rode as he accompanied Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’, is a thousand times as
valuable as ’Umar bin ’Abdul’azîz.” The superiority of Hadrat Mu’âwiya
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ can be inferred clearly from this statement. The following hadîth-i-sherîf would suffice to tell about
the greatness of Hadrat Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’: As Tirmuzî ‘rahimahullâhu
ta’âlâ reports, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ made the following invocation: “Yâ Rabbî! Make him hâdî and muhdî!” It
means: “O my Allah! Guide him to the right path and make him a guide leading
(others) to the right path!”
Let us be good people, and let us always do good.
Allâhu ta’âlâ likes good people. A person who tries to win the love of Allâhu ta’âlâ is called a sâlih
(pious, devoted) person, or a good person. A person who has won the love of Allâhu ta’âlâ is called a Walî,
(pl. Awliyâ). A Walî who guides others
to goodness is called a murshîd. Being a
good person requires being good towards Allâhu ta’âlâ, being
good towards
our
master, the Prophet, and being good towards all
people. A person who does not fulfil these three conditions for goodness cannot
be said to be a good person. To be good towards Allâhu
ta’âlâ means to believe that He exists and is one and that He is the
creator and maker of all. He, alone, wills and creates everything done by every
person, by every living being, by every lifeless being, and by every source of
power. To be good towards Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ means to have îmân in him, i.e. to
believe that he is the Prophet of Allâhu ta’âlâ, that he is the highest of all prophets and other human
beings, and that all his utterances are from
Allâhu ta’âlâ, and to adapt oneself to him,
i.e. to follow him. His utterances are termed hadîth-i-sherîf. To believe in him
and to follow him, it is necessary to learn his words, manners and deeds, as
well as the things he classifies as good and those which he says are bad. In
other words, it requires ’ilm (knowledge).
Pieces of knowledge which a Muslim has to learn are called
Islamic teachings. There are two
groups of Islamic teachings: Religious
teachings, and scientific teachings. Religious
teachings fall into two categories: Physical teachings, and teachings pertaining to heart and îmân (belief, faith). Physical teachings guide people about things
that are good and necessary to do, [which are called farz, or fard,] and those
which are bad and therefore forbidden to do, [which are termed harâm.] The religious teachings were
communicated by Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’. They are called Islam. Physical teachings are termed Ahkâm-i-ilâhiyya (Divine rules),
or teachings of the Sharî’at. Scholars who learn Islam correctly and teach it to others and
write it (in their books), are called scholars of Ahl
as-Sunnat. Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat have
acquired their knowledge from the Qur’ân al-kerîm and from hadîth-i-sherîfs, and they have never interpolated
Islam’s teachings with their personal views. There are scholars who have
inserted their own thoughts into Islam’s teachings; they are called ahl-i-bid’at, or religious reformers, or heretics. Scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat are
murshids (guides) who have attained the grade of ijtihâd in knowledge. They are also familiar
with the scientific teachings of their time.
A person who attends the sohbat of a Murshid-i-kâmil, i.e. who attends
his company and lessons, will not only learn the Sharî’at but also attain the
nûrs (lights, haloes) emanating from
his
blessed heart. The nûrs so spread are called fayz.
The sun, in addition to its visible rays which we always see, spreads rays beyond
and below the visible spectrum, such as the ultraviolet and infra-red rays,
respectively. There are other invisible rays, such as laser beams, roentgen
rays (x-rays), cathode rays,
and death-rays, and sources that
generate each of these rays. Likewise, there are invisible rays continuously
emanating from Rasûlullah’s blessed heart. These
rays are called nûr. These rays flowed
into the hearts of the Ashâb-i-kirâm, i.e. those Muslims who were in his
company, each receiving an amount in proportion to his capacity. A person’s
capacity (to receive these blessed rays) is dependent upon his success in
keeping within the limits drawn by the Sharî’at. Each of the Ashâb-i-kirâm was
a scholar of Ahl as-Sunnat. As the nûrs and fayz reached the hearts of the
Sahâba, each Sahâbî received an amount proportionate to the firmness of his
belief in the Messenger of Allah and the strength of the affection he felt
towards him. Because Hadrat Abû Bakr’s îmân was the firmest and his love was
the strongest, he received the most fayz. Loving someone necessitates loving
his lovers, hating those who hurt him, and following and serving him. Man’s
heart has a special fluorescent property. It absorbs the nûrs coming and then
emits them. The nûrs emitted by the hearts of the Ashâb-i-kirâm entered the
hearts of the loving ones of the Tâbi’în. By way of a sort of relay conveyance,
the loving hearts of each century both acquired the teachings of the Sharî’at
and received fayz from their murshids.
If a person’s heart gets attached to his murshid’s heart and thereby
attains the nûrs coming from the Messenger of Allah, his îmân will become
firmer, and it will be easier and more pleasurable for him to adapt himself to
the Sharî’at, his nafs gradually ceasing from its evil and sinful aspirations.
Preoccupied as his mind may be in temporal interests and deliberations such as
trade, agriculture, making a living (in a canonically legitimate way which is)
called halâl; in science, arts, laws, jihâd and astronomy; and busy as he may
be solving others’ problems, his heart will keep clear of all these worldly
cares. He will perform all his acts of worship, carry on all his daily
occupations and do all his goodnesses only for the purpose of doing the
commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He will not expect any other benefit. Pieces of
knowledge from the
world
of souls will flow into his heart. Sayyid Abdulhakîm Arwâsî ‘rahmatullâhi
’aleyh’ was one such person. He was ready for all sorts of questions in the
teachings of îmân and fiqh as well as in all the branches of business and
science, and the answers he gave would arouse great wonder and admiration in
the audience. Religious and scientific knowledge acquired through a mental
process of studying and learning is called ’ilm.
The knowledge which flows into a murshid’s heart is called shuhûd or ahwâl,
(which is plural of hâl). The shuhûd of Allâhu ta’âlâ and
His Attributes is called ma’rifat. To
acquire a ma’rifat of Allâhu ta’âlâ means to
realize that He, alone, exists, that creatures are non-existent, and that they
exists only in appearance like visions in a mirror. This two-staged ma’rifat is
termed ma’rifatullah, or fanâ-fillâh. A person who has attained it is
called ’ârif. A person who is ’ârif
cannot harm anyone. He does favours to all people. He becomes a beloved slave
of Allâhu ta’âlâ, a murshid. He spreads both the
teachings of the Sharî’at and fayz. The teachings which he spreads are not
called murshid. The person who spreads the teachings is called a murshid. In
other words, murshid means a perfect human being, a mature Muslim who is useful
to everybody, to his country and nation. To receive fayz from a murshid it is
essential to know and obey the Sharî’at. For instance, a woman who wishes to
obey the Sharî’at mustn’t expose her head and hair, her arms and legs in the
presence of men who are nâ-mahram to her[1];
therefore, as she goes out; she has to cover all her body except her face and
palms. Fayz will not come to a person who does not obey the Sharî’at. On the
contrary, that he will suffer fire of Hell in case he does not make tawba, has
been said (by Islamic scholars). The heart’s receiving the fayz coming to it
requires realizing and believing the perfection of the murshid and loving him
on account of his perfection. If a person is possessed of that love, he will
receive fayz as he reads the murshid’s books as well. Also, once a person has
attained the murshid’s fayz, by listening to him or by reading his books, he
will receive fayz by establishing remote râbita
with the murshid, i.e. by visualizing the mursihd’s
blessed face, regardless of the
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[1] The eighth chapter of the fourth fascicle
of Endless Bliss provides detailed information on women nâ-mahram to a
man and men who are nâ-mahram to a woman.
distance between them. Also, fayz can be received from
past murshids by visiting their graves.
Allâhumma salli ’alâ Muhammadin wa ’alâ Âlihi wa Sahbihi wa sellim.
He who observes the Awliyâ with physical eyes,
Is without sight, dead, lifeless, and inert.
The Awliyâ are alive, so they’ll be seen with eyes alive;
For, living ones will be to life alert.
The (English translation of the) eightieth letter in the first volume (of Maktûbât), by Imâm Rabbânî mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî: